1. Smartphone Applications to Assist in Medication Adherence
Fatin Wahida Hamidi and Alison McMahon /
Introduction
Results
A total of 118 questionnaire response were analysed in this study.
Medication non-adherence is becoming an ever growing issue in today’s society with it being estimated that one third to one half of people taking medication for chronic health conditions are not taking it as prescribed.1
With advances in mobile phone functions and accessibility, the use of medication adherence apps could be a potentially useful method for supporting medication adherence.
Therefore in order to help reduce medication waste and improve patient compliance and outcomes, it was decided to research the potential of medication apps for supporting patient medication adherence.
Preferences were highest for various types of reminders indicating the potential heavy reliance on reminder-based apps in the pursuit of better adherence. Multilingual and sync functions were found to be least desired as most of the respondents are English speakers and only a small number of respondents having multiple gadgets.
Aims
Determine the views of community pharmacy users with regards to “the ideal app” on smartphones
Determine if current apps available on the market match what pharmacy users are looking for
Methods
Questionnaire Design
A questionnaire to determine the views of community pharmacy users with regards to the features of “the ideal app” was designed and after a pilot study, refined. This questionnaire used a mixture of question styles, such as yes/no, Likert scale and written answers in order to get a detailed view of opinions.
Sampling Techniques
The questionnaire was distributed to selected community pharmacies in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Data Collection
Completed questionnaires were returned for analysis. A review into apps available on the market was conducted, with an inclusion criteria of being free to download. Features were matched up against those queried in the questionnaire.
Statistical Analysis
Data was collated using Excel and then analysed using minitab statistical software. Chi square tests were performed to determine if there was a relationship between various parameters.
It was found that the existing downloadable apps lack features that the users demanded such as passcode lock, sync with other devices and health information. The app developers are encouraged to introduce more types of reminder functions such appointment or expiration reminders and history of daily medicine intake in order to enhance the utility and desirability of their apps.
Conclusions
An ideal medication adherence app should be free, secured, reminder-oriented with medicine intake tracking system and preferably have additional info on medicine, health and lifestyle together with sync and passcode lock features. App providers should design an ideal app based on users’ preference rather than solely for marketing.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Ian Millar (University of Strathclyde) who assisted and supported in the collection of the data and writing of the report.
References
National institute for Health and Care Excellence. Medicines adherence: involving patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence.